Discontinued Garmin handheld chart

The Garmin handheld GPS comparison chart below shows recently discontinued Garmin backcountry and marine handhelds (in alphabetical order) that include a high-sensitivity chipset. I do not recommend any units without such chipsets for backcountry use.

Links go to my Garmin handheld GPS review/resource pages for each model except where I’ve yet to post those; in that case the links go to the Garmin product page. Features in the headers are explained below the charts. You might also find my handheld GPS buyers guide and specialty GPS buyers guides helpful.

Feature explanations

Display type – Monochrome and high resolution (hi-res) units tend to be more difficult to read in daylight conditions. Even so, the newer hi-res units are suitable for handheld use, where you will intuitively tilt the screen for the best view. They can also be customized to enhance viewing in bright conditions. The only “hi-res” units I recommend for fixed mount, non-external power use (e.g., bike handlebars) are the Dakota series, which is a bit brighter but not quite as high resoluion as the others.

Ability to add maps/storage – If a unit accepts maps, the storage medium or available internal memory is listed. Units with pre-loaded detailed maps also offer some internal storage, in addition to SD/microSD. Please note that there are lots of free maps available for these units. Also note that a micro-SD card is included with the purchase of the 60/76C(S)x series units, but not with any of the others.

Electronic compass – These units also have a barometric altimeter. You can read more about electronic compasses here. A two-axis compass must be held level; a three-axis (AKA tri-axial) compass does not need to be held level, but is more of a pain to calibrate.

Paperless geocaching – These units will dispaly the full geocache description, cache size, difficulty and terrain ratings, and recent logs.

Turn by turn – These units can give turn-by-turn highway directions when the proper maps (usually City Navigator) are added, making them effective dual-use units.

Waypoints/Routes and Trackpoints/Tracks – The numbers listed are the number of waypoints and routes that can be saved, followed by the tracklog capacity and number of tracks that can be saved.